David Graham breezes to open golf victory in near gale-force conditions

Press, 3 December 1979, Page 34

David Graham breezes to open golf victory in near gale-force conditions

1A Wellington David Graham, of Australia, making the best of what he called “difficult conditions” bolted to an eight-stroke victory in the $75,000 Air New Zealand-Shell golf open at Herctaunga yesterday.

The steely-faced 33-year-old kept his game solid over the final five holes to card a final round 73 for a tournament total of 279 — five under par. The challenges never really came over a 6680 yard lay-out made devilishly difficult by the near galeforce winds which swirled all day. “You can walk in this weather let alone live here,” Joked Graham, the presented United States P.G.A. champion, after his win. Graham said he didn’t fee! like he was playing that well in the final round but qualified that statement by saying it was difficult to assess one’s form in the conditions. “1 just made the best of a difficult situation. I felt in control of myself and I knew everyone else would be having problems.” They were — including the tournament runner-up.

Rodger Davis. The injured j Davis — with 11 stitches in his jaw and inside his mouth ■ after slipping when about to have a shower — moved within two shots of Graham with five holes remaining. But the 28-year-old, in spite of his heroic display, wasn’t able to capitalise on that position and proceeded to drop shots on the next four holes. He finished with a 76 for a total of 287 and at the end was one stroke ahead of Bob Charles and the Mexican, Victor Regalado. Regalado birdied the parfive eighteenth while Charles shot the equal best round of i the game — an even par 71. ■ Graham started his round quietly, missing a two-footer, for par on the third and three-putting the seventh to drop another stroke to par. But on the 468-yard par four eighth the Australian took advantage of a lucky break: “I got a good result from a not very well executed

ishot,” he admitted later. i The stroke he wasn’t | happy about at the time was a low eight-iron which finished four foot behind the stick. Graham made the putt and “that got me back together again.”

He allowed Davis faint hope when he doubleb o g i e d the par-four thirteenth after pushing his tee-shot into trees. But the champion made a great birdie three on the short sixteenth — a hole of great dificulty as the wind blew fiercely.

Graham hit his tee-shot left and then cut a pitching wedge up over two traps to the back edge of the green. He put down the 30-footer and that was that.

Only moments earlier Davis had been faced with a similar approach to that green. But unlike Graham he elected to run his shot to the front apron rather than go for the pin. Sadly he then took three further shots to finish. He dropped another shot on the demanding par-four seventeenth and could do no better than par on the final 1.

There were mixed fortunes for the New Zealanders. While Charles crept up a few places with his par round Ricky Barker plummetted after his 80. Barker had two disaster holes on the opening nine — a seven at the second and an eight at the seventh.

Apart from those holes Barker did as well as the others vying for the top places.

Barry Vivian looked like he was going to move into a threatening position when he birdied the opening two holes to go back to square for the tournament. He made superb recoveries at the fourth and fifth to maintain his position but then bogeyed the par three sixth and hooked his drive out of bounds on the seventh.

There his charge ended and he battled home with the aid of a final hole birdie in 75 and a total of 290. : Two other New Zealand-1 ers, Terry Kendall and John; Lister, also matched Charles’s 71, while the leading amateur was the Fiji Open winner, Peter Creighton (Auckland). His fourround total of 311 was three strokes clear of the Miramar greenkeeper, Bob Bradley. Final scores were:— 279—D. Graham (Australia), 70. 67, 69, 73, $12,500. 287—R. Davi s (Australia), 69, 70. 72 76, $8330. 283—R Charles (New Zealand), 72. 73. 72, 71; V Regalado (Mexico! 72. 75, 68. 73. 290— S. Owen (N.Z.). 71, 71, 72, 76; B. Vivian (N.Z.i. 69, 73, 73, 75. 291— T. Kite (U.S.), 67, 72, 76, 76. 292— R. Gilder (U.S.), 70 72, 72, 78. 293— T. Kendall <N.Z.), 78, 73, 71, 71. 294— G. Littler (U.S.). 76, 75, 71, 72. 295— R. Barker (N.Z.). 69, 73, 73, 80; J. Schroeder (U.S.), 72, 72. 78, 73; J. Godwin (U.S.), 72, 67, 84, 72; B. Jones (Aust.), 69, 77, 75. 74 296— M. Bembridge (U.K.), 74, 71, 74, 77; R. Shearer (Aust.), 73. 73. 73. 77; B. Devlin (Aust.), 171, 73, 78. 74; G. Wolstenholme (Aust.), 73. 70. 76. 77; J. Lister ■(N.Z.), 71, 73. 81 71 298—E. Ball (Aust.), 70, 72, 75. 81; D. Klenk (U.S.), 73, 73, 761 76

299— R. Coombes (N.Z.), 72. 73, 76, 78; R. Mallicoat (U.S.;, 76, 75, 76. 72. 300 — S. Ginn (Aust.), 73, 75, 76, 76; D. Simon (U.S.), 73. 72. 76, 79; T. Gale (Aust.), 80, 73, 72, 75; G. Hohnen (Aust.), 73, 76, 76, 75. 301— C. Owen (N.Z.), 71, 76. 75, 79; B. Barnes (U.K.), 73, 75, 73, 30; J. Benda (U.S.), 74, 73, Bu, 74 302— M. Foster (U.K.), 72, 74, 74, 82; E. Marti (U.S.), 75, 71, 75, 81; E. Dunk (Aust.), 75, 73. 75. 79. 303— K. Nagie (Aust.), 73, 77. 77, 76; P. Cowan (U.S.), 74, 78, 79, 72. 304— P. Murrav (Aust.), 70, 69, 78, 76; W. Britton (U.S.), 73, 75. 77 79; D. Williams (U.S.), 74, 77, 75. 78. 305— T. Johnson (U.K.), 73, 72, 183. 77; S. Reese (N.Z.), 77, 70, 80, 78; G. Serhan (Aust.), 78, 75, 74, 78; S Stegner (U.S.), 79, 72, 76, 78; P. Thomson (Aust.), 76, 74, 79, 76; W. Casper (U.S.), 77, 74, 79. 75. 306— C. Ferguson (Can.) 76, 73, 73, 79; S. Galbraith (U.S.), 71, 72, 83. 80; M. Bohen (U.S.). 75, 74. 77, 80; R. McNaughton (Aust.). 72, 74, 80, 80. 307— P. Mateer (U.S.), 74. 78, 76. 79; B. Beauchemin (Can.), 75, 76. 80, 76; P. Hamblett (N.Z.), 74, 76, 79, 78. 308— V. Somers (Aust.), 72, 69, 82. 85. 309— G. Bullock (U.S.). 73, SO, 80, 76; P. Headland (Aust.), 76, 73. 81, 79. 311— F. Nobilo (N.Z.), 76, 73, 80, 82; P. Creighton (N.Z., amateur), 74. 78. 81, 78. 312— D. Hartshorne (N.Z.) 76, 77. 79, 80. 313— R. Wood (Aust.), 75. 77, 83. 78; J. Short (U.S.), 72, 77. 81, 314— D. Clark (N.Z.), 72. 78. 78, 86; R. Bradlev (N.Z. amateur), 77, 76, 81. 80; K. Dukes (Aust.), 76. 74, 79, 85. 315— R. Lee (Aust.), 71, 77, 82. 85; A. Snape (N.Z.). 73, 73, 84, 85. 317—G. Mueller (U.S.). 78. 75. 84. 80; S. Long (U.S.), 78, 75, 79, : 318—S. Tuttle (U.S.), 74. 77, 89. 78. i 321—P. Aickin (N.Z., amateur), : 74. 79, 86. 82; J. Simpson (N.Z.. i amateur). 76, 77. 83, 85.